Following our first legislative deadline last week, the seventh week of session in the Iowa Senate focused on floor debate. After bills pass the Senate, they are sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration.
Today there are a host of modern conveniences that offer the consumer the benefit of saving money and time. But why is there no cost-savings entity for concerts and events? Something I learned in freshman economics is the supply and demand curve, and what that does to prices. However, in this case, technology has not helped us. It has hindered the supply curve by hoarding, creating a high demand and artificially inflated ticket prices.
This is why I drafted SF 2322. This bill prohibits the use or creation of a program to purchase more than eight tickets, prohibits the use of multiple internet protocol addresses, and prohibits circumventing or disabling an electronic queue or another sales volume limitation system associated with internet ticket sales.
Our jobs sustain us, but arts and entertainment help fulfill us. The Iowa Hawkeyes women games were sold out since last October, however if I wanted to attend last Thursday’s game and witness history being made, the tickets available (and there were hundreds) were $300-$2,100 EACH. With this simple, but potentially very impactful legislation, my hope is that it keeps costs down, doesn’t price out event-goers, and potentially opens up opportunities to a much broader group of Iowans.
I also supported the passage of Senate File 2251 this week, expanding Medicaid benefits to pregnant women and preserving these benefits for those who truly need them. The bill expands Medicaid coverage for pregnant mothers during their pregnancy from 60 days through 12 months postpartum. Under this legislation, benefits would be limited to a pregnant woman in a household of four with an income around $64,000. It is only one of a number of programs available to women and families supported by taxpayer dollars, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infant, and Children (WIC), Family Investment Program (FIP), and the More Opportunity for Maternal Support (MOMS) program the Legislature enacted in 2022 to help pregnant and new mothers.
